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The BulleTin • Wednesday, decemBer 14, 2022 A3 WASHINGTON 4 people stabbed at casino; man arrested BY GENE JOHNSON associated Press A man at a poker table went on a sudden, unprovoked at- tack at a casino in La Cen- ter, Washington, on Monday night, stabbing or slashing four people before being ar- rested after a high-speed car chase, authorities said. All four victims were ex- pected to survive, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The attack happened just before midnight at the New Phoenix and Last Frontier ca- sinos, table game and poker establishments that share a building in the town of La Center. Several witnesses called 911 to report the stab- bings and said the suspect was armed with what appeared to be a hunting knife. Patrons and employees con- fronted the attacker, but he was able to make it to a car and drive away, the sheriff’s office said. Deputies found the vehicle and pursued it, the sheriff’s of- fice said, with the chase reach- ing speeds of more than 100 mph. Police used an “immobi- lization technique” to stop the vehicle and arrested the driver. Video from the casino showed a man sitting at a poker table before reaching down, grabbing something and then standing and stab- bing the man next to him five times in the head and chest “without provocation or warning,” the sheriff’s of- fice said. Several people tried to in- tervene, but the man began swinging the knife at them and then stabbed a woman sit- ting at the same table, police said. The suspect chased an- other man into the parking lot and stabbed him when he fell, then drove off. It was not immediately clear how the fourth victim was wounded. All four were taken to a nearby hospital, and three of them were treated and re- leased. The Clark County Sheriff’s Office said Scott Harmier, 41, of Vancouver, Washington, is charged with four counts of felony assault. Jail records do not show if he has obtained an attorney. Harmier is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning. In a statement on its Face- book page, the casino called the attack unprovoked and said its human resources de- partment was researching counseling options for staff and guests. “Our thoughts and prayers are extended for all affected,” it said. Mass stabbings are less common than mass shootings in the U.S., but they happen. Becca robbins/Vancouver columbian via aP Four people were stabbed or slashed at the Last Frontier Casino in La Center, Washington, in what wit- nesses described as a random, unprovoked attack late Monday night, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said. A suspect in the case was arrested early Tuesday, and all four victims were expected to survive. In October, an attacker with a large knife killed two people and wounded six others along the Las Vegas Strip before he was arrested. The suspect in that case, Yoni Christian Barrios, 32, has been ordered to remain at a state psychiatric facility until doctors determine he can un- derstand the criminal charges against him. OREGON Kotek outlines focus on homelessness, behavioral health and schools Governor elect lays out priorities at Oregon Leadership Summit HILLARY BORRUD The Oregonian Oregon Gov.-elect Tina Kotek told business leaders at an annual summit in Portland on Monday that she will prioritize rebuilding trust, increasing accountability in state government and boosting partnerships between various government entities and the private sector when she takes office in January. Kotek also promised to deliver re- sults on three “issues of shared con- cern” across the state: housing and homelessness, mental health and ad- diction services and schools. “We must improve the experience of Oregonians who are counting on us to deliver services every day,” Kotek said. “Ac- countability in gov- ernment is one of the primary reasons I ran for governor.” Too often, state leaders have de- Kotek clared victory after passing new pro- grams or funding, then failed to en- sure the public ultimately received the services or benefits that were promised. Kotek, a Democrat who served for more than a decade in the state House including nine years as speaker, laid out her high-level agenda during her keynote address at the Oregon Leadership Summit. “The real victory doesn’t come until that working mom enrolls her child in an affordable child care pro- gram,” until an unhoused military veteran gets a home “and the student who’s been struggling to read knows the satisfaction of reading her first book,” Kotek said. The governor-elect said she will push her administration to “reframe success” to prioritize results and she will deliver lists of expectations to state agencies after she takes office. Kotek said the expectations might be general at first but she will zero in on specific metrics. One way Kotek wants to rebuild Oregonians’ trust in state gov- ernment is by meeting regularly with officials who can collaborate to tackle the state’s biggest chal- lenges, such as Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair-elect Jessica Vega Pederson, she said. “Our entire state benefits when Portland is healthy and econom- ically thriving,” Kotek said. Some Portland-area civic leaders have faulted Gov. Kate Brown for her hands-off approach as the state’s largest city struggled with rising gun violence, homelessness and other problems. Kotek announced she will under- take a “One Oregon” listening tour to visit each of the state’s 36 counties during her first year in office, starting with Yamhill and Douglas counties before her Jan. 9 inauguration. In the governor’s office, Kotek said she expects her staff will spend more time than her predecessor’s did working directly with state agency leaders with the goal of achieving “operational excellence.” Kotek expects to issue more an- nouncements this week about top hires in her administration. When reporters asked her in a briefing whether she might pick new direc- tors for the employment and educa- tion departments, Kotek answered, “possibly, yes.” The governor-elect offered few specifics on how she might try to boost students’ academic outcomes, but she did say she wants to focus on improving third-grade reading proficiency and possibly direct ad- ditional help to struggling fourth and fifth grade students in a rec- ognition of the impacts of the pan- demic. Students at all grade levels struggled academically and emo- tionally during the pandemic, and Oregon schools stayed closed for in-person instruction longer than nearly all other states; researchers have found that, in general, stu- dents whose schools returned to in-person instruction sooner sus- tained less learning loss during the pandemic. Kotek said during her press avail- ability that she is also interested in getting schools to provide more tu- toring, a proven strategy that few Or- egon schools are using despite having federal pandemic funds available to do so, and summer school.
